The Sandwich Generation -
Two young daughters,my parents,
two dogs, and a job working with older adults...I am living a sandwich life between the young and old! Evidently that wasn't enough, so I have added 9 chickens too! Update! 15 chickens!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Getting our priorities straight!

While growing up in the 60's into the 70's (yes, I am old), we took family vacations. We would go "camping" in the roughest sense of the word at the beginning.

Our family vacations did not include just the six in our immediate family, but our WHOLE family, aunt, uncles, cousins, some grandparents, an occasional boyfriend, etc.

We originally started going to places like lakes in Texas, then moved onto campgrounds in Oklahoma, but quickly moved onto the mountains in Arkansas.

But soon it was decided Arkansas was not tall enough and we took our whole entourage to Colorado.

To better explain to Annabel what white trash is, I should dig out the pictures of those trips.

We were going to Colorado before John Denver had discovered it and when you could only buy Coors Beer while in the state. So we are talking ages ago and very primitive camping was expected.

BUT before you can start on any trip, you have to pack and get ready to go.

All of the family would descend on our house and my aunt and uncle, who lived around the corner from us, on the first Friday in June to begin our caravan to Colorado.

To get across Texas, since no one used an air conditioner in their car in those days, we would begin our journey after the dads got home from work and drive a huge chunk of the trip while the sun was going down.

BUT again, you have to get started on your trip and packed and ready to go.

My father starts planning the next trip when we are driving home from the last one. If he is not at least 45 minutes early for all appointments, there is no use going, as you are practically late. On our first trip to Colorado was in a '57 Volkswagen Beetle. The two younger kids were left at home, so that freed up some space and Dad devised a plan to put our clothes in a box that would fit under our feet, pack a Coleman lantern, stove, water jug, and ice chest, all in a space that can only hold a family of gnats. I'm sure we were packed and ready to go 2 days before we left.

BUT, when you are traveling with family, or at least with ours, there is one person that likes to wait until EVERYONE else is ready and he begins to prep for the trip.

We would be loaded in our cars and most had 4 kids in them, the last trip to the potty had been made, and we would cruise to my aunt and uncle's house.

There he would be watering his plants, sweeping out the floor boards of the car with a tiny broom, having a cup of coffee, and all those really IMPORTANT things needed before you leave on a big trip.

The other brothers and sisters (my dad and his siblings) would get so frustrated with him, but he was the oldest male which counts for a lot in white trash families, and we were all stuck waiting on him to declare he was ready to go.

After the first few years they finally would go off and leave him and then wait on the side of the road somewhere.

The reason for me telling you all of this is because so far today I have mowed the yard, cleaned off the deck of stuff that has been there for months, picked my green beans, squash, and tomatoes, washed the girls' winter comforters and blankets, hung them outside, visited with my parents, had some breakfast, some coffee, another cup of coffee, worked on my compost, and balanced the national deficit.